Bron
Daimler
With its first green bond Daimler (1 billion euro 10-year) is steadily advancing towards CO₂-neutral technologies and services. The benchmark Eurobond issued by Daimler was more than 4-times oversubscribed and driven by a high-quality orderbook. The issuance was arranged by BBVA, BNP Paribas, Commerzbank, Crédit Agricole, SEB and Unicredit.
“CO₂-neutral mobility and production is a clear goal and an integral part of our sustainable business strategy. The proceeds of our first green bond will be used exclusively for financing green projects, enabling the transformation towards a carbon-free company and industry. The strong demand for our green bond demonstrates the attractive conditions as well as the confidence of investors in our strategy.” says Harald Wilhelm, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Finance & Controlling / Daimler Mobility, and Mercedes-Benz AG, responsible for Finance & Controlling
The green bond is in line with the International Capital Market Association’s (ICMA) Green Bond Principles and is guided by the Daimler Green Finance Framework, which was introduced in June 2020. The Framework is a summary of the principles under which Daimler will utilize green financing instruments. It applies to a broad range of debt instruments such as green bonds, green promissory notes (Schuldscheine), green commercial paper and green loans. Daimler will allocate the net proceeds from the green financing instruments in accordance with the Framework to develop and produce zero-emission vehicles such as battery-electric (BEV) and fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEV), for example.
More than 50% of the proceeds will be allocated to the “Clean Transportation” Category. Furthermore, the proceeds may be used, for example, to upgrade manufacturing facilities or construct new facilities for the production of zero-emission vehicles and their drivetrains, and to establish the recycling of batteries and fuel cells. One lighthouse project among others is Factory 56, where the all-new S-Class is assembled. The recently opened zero-carbon factory embodies the future of production at Mercedes-Benz and sets new standards for the automotive industry.
“Dark Green” rating
Daimler’s Framework obtained “Dark Green”, the highest rating of CICERO, a leading provider of independent, research-based evaluations of green finance frameworks.
Daimler will provide a Green Finance Investor Report on an annual basis in order to create transparency for investors and the public regarding the environmental impact of the investments in the financed projects. The use of the proceeds of Daimler’s green bond is in line with the Daimler Green Finance Framework. Project details will be revealed in the first Green Finance Investor Report, to be published in the third quarter of 2021.
